Donation Points system now live for mod authors on Nexus Mods

Back in December I announced our intention to create and release a system that provided some modest rewards to mod authors on Nexus Mods.

It's taken us a bit longer to implement than we initially anticipated, but I am happy to announce that from today, any mod authors on Nexus Mods will be able to opt their files into our Donation Points system.

The premise of the Donation Points (DP) system is relatively simple on the surface. Each month Nexus Mods will donate a set amount of money into a central donation pool from which the total DP available that month will be calculated. At the end of each month, mod authors will receive DP based on how many unique downloads their mods received that month. How many DP your mod(s) receive will depend on a number of factors including how much money we have donated into the pool and how many unique downloads all the other opted-in files from other authors have received.

1,000 Donation Points will be worth $1 and mod authors will be able to choose from a number of ways to spend their DP, including receiving straight up Pay Pal donations, buying Premium Membership from Nexus Mods, donating their DP to a number of charities or sharing their DP with other users on the site that they like or have received help from. We hope to expand on what's available in our store over the coming months and years while promoting exactly how much has been donated to mod authors (in a general sense) and how much we've given to charities on their behalf.

There is a 3 month delay before any payouts happen so we've still got plenty of time before the first Donation Points are handed out to mod authors who opt into the system. We've done the bulk of the work on this system, but it's still early days and we've got a little ways to go before it's fully complete. However, we'd really like to get the ball rolling and letting mod authors opt their files into this new system is the first milestone.

In the first couple of months the money we donate into the pool will be lower than what we hope to donate each month. This is because we know it will take time for word to get out and we'd like to give all mod authors a good opportunity to gain from this system, rather than chucking a load of money into a big explosive opening only for a limited number of authors to benefit from it. However, I've set aside a budget of $100,000 from Nexus Mod's own funds over the next 12 months to this system. Our gesture of thanks from Nexus Mods, and the users of Nexus Mods, to all the mod authors who use our site and share their work freely with the internet. Looking forward, we would also like to introduce a crowd funding mechanism that will allow users of the site to donate to the monthly pool and top up what Nexus Mods is already paying in each month.

Also of note, we've updated our permissions system on mod pages to include an area where you can specify whether you'd like others using your assets/mods to be able to receive Donation Points for their mods and whether you'd like to be contacted for permission first. If this is of interest to you, please update your "Permissions" on your files accordingly.

Because our Donation Points system makes extensive use of the "Unique Downloads" stats, we have had to make a tough choice and remove our "guest downloading" system entirely from the site. For those not aware, up until this point we allowed non-members and users who are not logged in to download files that were less than 2MB in size. Unfortunately, with the prevalence of proxies, VPNs and services like TOR it has become impossible to accurately track unique downloads from these users and it opens up an avenue for abuse in our Donation Point system. As such, we had to choose between those downloads not counting in our Donation Point system or removing the guest download system entirely. We felt not counting these downloads would significantly impact some of the smaller mods out there (of which very popular mods, like SkyUI, are a part) and thus, we've decided to make it so that you need to be logged in to Nexus Mods in order to download all files on the site now. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

For more information on this system please read through our FAQ section. If you're a mod author and would like to opt-in one or more of your files, head on over to our opt-in page. You can access this page at any time from the "Mods" drop-down in the top-nav or in the bottom-nav of the site. And if you'd like to see what you can buy with your future DP then you can check out our store page.

CaedesAposis wrote: So this is how modding finally dies and becomes monetized. With thunderous applause from its last bastion of freedom. Shame really.

"User files: 0"

I shouldn't worry too much about that. Nexus will first and foremost be a free platform; free to download a metric ton of awesome user made content and free to share your own mods with others, that is. The donations come from the platform itself rather than directly from users (which few ever opt to do anyway), that's a notable difference compared to say, Creation Club. If anything, it's an added incentive for people to create and share mods and that's never a bad thing. As most of us modders are used to the fact that we don't earn anything with it and do it for fun and contribution anyhow.

Honestly, I could care less about your sand castle that you spent SO much hard work on.. I don't use it, nor do I want it.

However, I sincerely believe in paying someone for their time, especially if I use their product.

Your sand castle.. Moot point and a terrible analogy.

I realize this is a really old post but it was one of the first that I saw in looking into premium membership, and as of yesterday, I've become a supporter!

Mod creators are just like any other creative artist or producer, all of those people complaining that mod creators should not be paid for a hobby is the most ridiculous thing ever. How many people actually do get paid for what starts out as a hobby ! Plenty of people ; in the creative world especially!! The option of donating to modders is there for those that really do appreciate their hard work. quite a number of years ago i created a map and mods for a non bethesda game i spent 6 months on it, i can tell you it was more than a hobby for me ,just becuase i didnt get paid for it doesnt mean it isnt work! in fact for the most part modding can be pretty damn hard work! ;) just wanted to say my bit on this topic.

Yeah, I don't really understand where they're coming from either honestly.personally I've sunk over 830 hours into the creation kit and it's not like playing a game and having fun; these are the same types of tools the developers work with.Far as I see it; it's basically like saying that the development team for the game shouldn't get paid because they're working on a game. Making music, art, and every other creative based outlet one can simple say "It's just a hobby, they shouldn't be allowed to accept money for it."and it just sounds stupid.

Okay, I'm going outside to the beach and making a sand castle every day. Why? because I like doing it. it's a hobby. If you don't throw cash at me, you are an inconsiderate individual because you can't understand how much effort, hard work and hours I've put into it just so people can look at it.

So I have opted in on a few mods I have uploaded. But for whatever reason I can't add the Wildlife Conservation at all I see an option in the bottom left corner but theres no way to click save on it. Any ideas?

Edit: thought I should add this. When I click save it wont do anything. When I exit it reverts back 100% to me.

I shouldn't worry too much about that. Nexus will first and foremost be a free platform; free to download a metric ton of awesome user made content and free to share your own mods with others, that is. The donations come from the platform itself rather than directly from users (which few ever opt to do anyway), that's a notable difference compared to say, Creation Club. If anything, it's an added incentive for people to create and share mods and that's never a bad thing. As most of us modders are used to the fact that we don't earn anything with it and do it for fun and contribution anyhow.

I don't think it's the sort of monetization you're envisioning at the moment. Modders are not selling their mods, nor are they selling it to a distributor, i.e. giving the rights to their content to Nexus to sell as they like, but are being given a certain amount of money based on the popularity of their creations, which is a direct contributor to the popularity of the site. I'm open to suggestion here, but I don't see how this limits freedom in terms of what can be popularized, uploaded, or created. Sure, it encourages creators to make larger, more refined mods/content in order to meet the requirements of the Donation Points system and generate some revenue, as big mods really don't make much off donations anyway, but it doesn't make small creations, niche mods, or simple fixes less important/harder to upload. It doesn't change the uploading/hosting system of Nexus at all, in reality.

So think of it less as Creation Club, in which users sell their mods, and more of say, youtube's monetization system, in which creators are paid by the site to have popular content.

I am simply imaging a larger newer category at the bottom titled xxx. This would be the category with the largest amount of uploads and trying to make the biggest tit. The tightest girl spot. The perkiest nipple. All the while the kids download these until they cream in-game. Since they get money on x downloads and game porn is the new top mod type it seems sometimes. Sorry I am ashamed the modding community, not nexus but mods in general have become more(cant spell worth s*** do not judge) centered around skimpy or nude things. Then again I am a stickler for lore and "word where your in the game wth its called". That being said I think the creation club was the starting point of monetizing mods. It will happen full scale, the world revolves around money. Modding simply being an unopened urn so to speak. However I am aware the time above average mods take to form. I think donating to mod authors is a great and wonderfull idea that more people should do. I do hope nexus can find that balance that large developers never would as it would benefit all partys involved. My thoughts drift quick and I can not spell half the damned time. Grammer nazis and etiquite wierdoe pounce